A very rare Species

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Day 66

Andy got up early and made a cup of tea for us both, of course bringing mine to me whilst I was still languishing in bed, well, it was so cosy and warm in there. Up in Glenn Innes the nights are cold and it does not get warm very early.

Andy was sat reading his book and through the open flyscreen of the tent he saw two Kangaroos come bounding past the truck. He did not hear them, they were so silent, I can vouch for that as I never heard a thing until Andy called me to get out of bed (yuck!!) but for a great photo opportunity how could I resist. So I hurriedley dressed and grabbed my camera, slipping the 300mm lens on in the process.

Andy pointed out the Kangaroos, they were not far from the tent, but grazing on open lush green grass that the rain had brought out. I crept as close as I dared, I have to say these animals are not daft, they look straight at you, they know you are there and every now and again they look at you. I was very quiet, all the same I was looking were I was stepping as I did not have my contact lens in and you never know if there is a snake around.

I took some photos of these 2 whilst grazing, Andy and I stood and watched for ages and then when they had their feed, off they bounded into the long grass in the campsite, no doubt to spend their day lounging around in the shade.

Well, today is the day that we had been promised a Dell Engineer, this was what the chap called Ned in the Phillipines call centre had promised. Ok, we weren't that hopeful, Andy reckoned that this really would not happen. We have almost resigned ourselves that we would have to drive to Inverell to get a new Laptop.

After breakfast we took the laptop to the computer shop in Glen Innes, just in case the engineer actually arrived there and did not telephone us. Then we went back to base camp to do some chores as we were grounded for the day. So the laundry was on, the tent was swept out, we tidying our belongings, the truck was tidy, we read books, had lunch. I even managed to get out and take some photos of the campsite area and fiddle to my hearts content with the settings on the camera that I had not had chance to do since its purchase in Brisbane 2 years ago!

Ok, I will be honest about one thing though, I did a little bit of 'specking', this is a visual side of 'fossicking'. Specking means that you glance through what someone has already 'fossicked' just in case they miss something and when the sun is shining you may see a glint amongst some of the duller rugged stones. Well I did see a little glint so like a magpie after its prize in I went and found a small smokey coloured gemstone, I am not sure what it is, but it came from the same pile that I may already have found a topaz on, I will need to find an expert to confirm if I have a find. Sadly still no Sapphires, but don't worry they won't evade me for long!

At 4.00 we went back into town to collect the laptop, we had not heard anything and the shop also confirmed that no engineer had called. Andy asked if we could use the internet as we wanted to search for an address in Australia (hard to find!!).

As we were doing this the telephone rang and guess who was on the other end? Well the lesser known species of the Australian Dell Engineer. Wayne said that he would stop by and see us tomorrow afternoon, however that put our plans into further disarray, so Andy explained that we were moving on tomorrow, so amazingly Wayne said "I will come now, I am 100km away but can be with you in about an hour". The rain at this point was hurling itself out of the sky, people outside were soaked.

What made us both really chuckle is that he found his way to our campsite and before we knew it this Silver Holden Commodore Estate was parked outside our trailer tent! Wayne has a new screen for us, but we think it is the graphics card, and funnily enough, so does Wayne!

The schedulers make an interpretation of what is wrong from the description we gave on the telephone, even though we told them that we thought it was the graphics card overheating. Apparently they do not like being told their job, so clearly they make their customers suffer by sending the wrong parts out.

Wayne acknowledged that we were moving on, and said that he could not repair the laptop as he was certain that it was not the screen, but the graphics card. So he is prepared to meet us at our next stop in Narrabri, which is roughly 300km away from Glenn Innes, this will take a couple of days.

Now we wait with abated breath to receive his call and find out when we can get the laptop fixed.

The spare parts are flown down to the relevant engineer all over Australia. These guys, just work out of their vehicles and drive round all day fixing computers and the like.

After another cup of tea and a little bit of chat about the camper trailer and jafel Iron Wayne went on his way and Andy got the dinner on cooking up a pretty good spag bol.

After dinner we sat and read, but before going to bed we took the torch out to shine into the trees, looking for Possums. Sure enough we saw one beautiful Possum loitering with intent in the trees. I am sure that once everyone goes to bed, he goes looking for scraps of food left by the campers in the barbecue area.

Until tomorrow!

p.s. we are typing this in a Library in Inverell, using their cheap internet access. We may be like this for a few days. Promise to upload photos when our laptop is working so you may want to check back for any changes. Anyone who is looking for us to Skype, hang on in there, we hope to be back online properly soon.

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Photos

Kangaroo
This was one of the pair that bouced passed our tent this morning.

Early Riser
Andy got me out of bed to see these Roos/

Cleaning
Just cleaning my paws.

I can see you
... even though you crept up on me I know you are there.

Rare
This is Wayne Walters fixing our Dell!

Wayne
Wayne tells us at this point that he thinks it is not the screen and he will have to re order parts and see us in another town in a couple of days!

Chapel
One of the cabins at Craigieburn in Glen Innes

Rocky Outcrops
Rocky Ponds Creek, this is on the campsite, very interesting terrain.